Your Pain Is In Your Head

Chronic pain is a growing and complicated issue. Millions of people feel stuck with their pain, suffering day in and day out with no resolution in sight. For many, acupuncture can shed light at the end of this very dark tunnel.

We know that the nature of chronic pain can vary widely, from musculoskeletal and neurogenic to gastrointestinal, urogenital, and gynecological. However, less attention gets paid to the emotional component of chronic pain, which can be caused and exacerbated by negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety.

Pain conditions that are emotionally charged—which, ultimately, describes all cases of pain, since being in pain produces negative thought patterns—often are unabated by the pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications that are so commonly prescribed.

Treating chronic pain effectively requires approaching it holistically. This is where acupuncture excels.

Acupuncture approach to chronic pain

In Chinese medicine, there is no separation between mind and body. The two are inexorably linked, constantly influencing and regulating each other.

This philosophy runs counter to the way chronic pain is typically tackled by mainstream medicine, which tends to approach the problem strictly through a biological lens. Biologically, chronic pain is fairly straightforward. Misbehaving nerve impulses fire consistently, alerting the brain to the presence of inflammation or tissue damage.

When we look at chronic pain holistically, there’s more than nerve impulses to consider.

Our thoughts have a profound effect on how our bodies function. Negative thoughts and emotions increase stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine, which overtime can lead to systemic inflammation and a deterioration of overall health.

Emotions, like physical activity, require the expenditure of energy—energy that could otherwise be directed toward helping to heal the body. This is why you can have days when you barely exert yourself physically yet feel exhausted by the end.

Our emotions can wear us out. Many people are overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, and other types of emotional turbulence yet remain unaware that it’s contributing to their physical health problems.

Acupuncture refuses to let emotional turbulence fly under the radar.

In acupuncture theory, the Heart is at the center of all human life and plays a role in all emotions. Appropriately, another term for the Heart in Chinese medicine is Emperor. If the Emperor falls ill, he loses his ability to maintain order in his empire.

When we apply that metaphor to human health, it goes something like this: The Heart, ruler of the emotions, must be healthy for the rest of the body to follow suit. In other words, it is impossible to effectively treat chronic pain (or any other chronic condition) without addressing a person’s state of mind.

So, how do acupuncture and Chinese medicine address our states of mind?

One way is by choosing acupuncture points and prescribing herbal formulas that boost or tonify Blood. In acupuncture, negative emotions, particularly when chronic, create internal heat, which eventually consumes and depletes the nutritive Blood of the body.

Blood in acupuncture is more than just the red liquid that flows through our veins and arteries. Blood is viewed as a substance of nutrition and healing, the conduit through which our emotions flow.

When negative emotions become consuming, as is often the case in people who live with chronic pain, it can lead to signs of what acupuncturists call Blood deficiency. Symptoms may include dizziness, heart palpitations, insomnia, fatigue, poor memory, pale skin and tongue, weak pulse, and scanty or light menstrual periods.

Self-care techniques for chronic pain

In addition to the use of acupuncture needles and herbs to address deficient Blood, an acupuncturist treating chronic-pain symptoms may suggest some simple self-care techniques.

Mindfulness, for example, teaches people to be inquisitive rather than judgmental about their ailments. It teaches us to approach our issues with an open mind and to let go of expectations. Cultivating greater self-awareness helps to bring balance to the body and mind. It also makes it easier to determine when medical intervention is necessary or when it may be okay to wait for the discomfort to pass.

Chronic pain sufferers often feel as though they are constantly in pain. But by using mindfulness to bring increased awareness to their symptoms, many realize that their pain actually has ups and downs, and sometimes disappears completely. (For more on the benefits of mindfulness, check out this article I wrote.)

Mindfulness is just one self-care technique that can be helpful in addressing the physical and emotional components of chronic pain. Your acupuncturist may also recommend pressure points that you can massage on yourself, self-administered moxibustion, movement therapies such as qigong, and changes to your diet. Ask your practitioner about steps you can take at home to support your acupuncture treatments.

If you suffer from chronic pain, pain medications may not be the only answer. Whether it’s an acupuncturist, naturopath, or Western medical doctor, find a clinician who is open minded and understands the importance of treating your body and mind as one. It may be just the change you’ve been hoping for.

Photo by Sara Calabro

Adam Cantor is a nationally certified acupuncturist who has studied in the U.S. as well as in China. He combines tuina bodywork with classical Chinese acupuncture to treat a variety of ailments. Adam was drawn to Oriental medicine because of its effectiveness at treating the whole person. He owns Mind Body Medicine Acupuncture, with offices in Glen Head, NY and Manhattan.

12 Comments

dear Adam cantor . i took five session of acupucnture include chinese traditional medicine . my situation is worest .
exple I have muscle tightness my neck
my chinese acupunter was using lot of needless and he put my stomach and top of my bladder top of my head since that time I start nuasea vomit , weak muscles , restless , lost erect. fatigue , my energey or too low
specialy my stomach are pain where he put needless is. num and tightness also it look they something like signal. can you help
to me I hope problem is herbs and my be needless how long will take recovery of body it self even if he try to do something wrong
because every time I visit to him he charging to me lot money so I stop him but I feel problem what can I do
help to me please
thank you

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, I cannot diagnose via the internet and require a hands-on intake to ascertain the situation. If you would like to make an appointment, I’m sure we can figure it out…

hi Adam frist of all thanx answer you givin to
me ,
I would like to ask you how long will take natural process healing. the body and energy it come back it self.
I take almost six session
givin to me please rough stamate

I really like your article and appreciate how you distinguish the value of an acupuncturist’s holistic approach to pain. I regularly post AcuTake articles on my business Facebook page. This would be a great article to share with others, but I find the title misleading and potentially offensive. I know that was definitely not your intention and perhaps it is a play on words about the emotional component of pain, although I think it implies that an individual’s experience with pain is only “in their head.” I am especially sensitive to this implication because so many of my patients report that their doctors and other care providers tell them that whatever it is they are struggling with is “in their head.” Then acupuncturists validate their experience through a TCM diagnosis, work with them holistically, and the patient is thrilled with the treatment outcomes. Anyway, thank you very much for the excellent article… just my two cents on the title. 🙂

The title was actually the Editor’s choice, but your objection is certainly noted. Nevertheless, I appreciate your interest in my article and I whole heartedly agree that many sources of pain are not tangible or quantifiable by Western medicine yet remain completely legitimate and problematic. This is obviously a huge reason for the success of Chinese medicine in so many areas that other therapies fail. Thanks for reading…

I like the fact that acupuncture is not all about sticking needles into one’s acupoints. Self-care techniques ensure that a patient actively takes part in their own well-being too. And I agree with Fellow Acupuncturist here in the comments section. The dismissal ‘it’s just in your head’ line has upset many people. But it has also led them to realizing the fact that allopathy is not the only kind of medicine out there. Great post, Adam!